Curl clip



11954 J. SCHILDT 2,687,737

7 CURL CLIP Filed Jan. 19, 1954 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 31. 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CURL CLIP John Schildt, Baldwin; N; Y. Application January 19, 1954, ScrialNo. 404,970

2 Claims.

This invention relates primarily to hair curl clips and more particularly to hair clips of the type employed to hold hair curls in place while the curls are setting.

In general the present invention relates to curl 'clips of the type disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,638,908, issued May 19, 1953, to John Schildt, and one of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved curl clip of this type.

The two-piece clip disclosed in the above mentioned Schildt patent employs a spring tongue formed from one of the pieces to hold the two pieces together. In use the spring tongue may be deformed or lose some of its resiliency due to being heated or other causes whereby the two pieces of the clip may become separated. In View of the above, an object ofthe invention resides in an improved two-piece clip wherein the two pieces are locked together independently of the spring tongue of one of the pieces. Accordingly, the two pieces of the clip remain together regardless of the condition of the spring tongue.

Another object of this invention is to provide a two-piece spring curl clip wherein one of the pieces have integral tabs which interlock in recesses of the other piece to form a nonseparable two-piece clip.

In connection with the above, another object of this invention is to provide one of the pieces of the clip with looking tabs which are slightly sprung during assembly with the other piece of the clip and, when fully assembled, spring back to a normal position to lock the two pieces together.

The above and further objects of the present invention will be more apparent in the following detailed description wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in the latter of which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the curl clip embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the curl clip of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the upper or top piece of the two-piece curl clip of the present inven tion;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lower or bottom piece of the two-piece curl clip of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 6-45 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the curl clip comprises a bottom or lower part or piece and an upper or top part or, piece, indicated generally by reference numerals II and I2, respectively. The two. pieces are made of spring sheet metal of suitable thickness and hardness of substan tially the same length andwidth, and preferably are fabricated by stamping operations.

As best .shown in Fig. 4, the lower part II comprises a fiat intermediate section l3 from whichextends in a forwardly direction, or to the left asshown in Fig. 4, a pair of spaced apart jaw fingers H. The ends of the fingers l4 may be rounded to facilitate theuse thereof. Extending rearwardly, or to the right as shown in Fig. 4, from the intermediate section It is a finger or handle section [6 which may be slightly inclined or bent in an upwardly direction. A tongue I! is formed as by lancing, for ex ample, from the intermediate and handle sections of the lower part II and, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, extends upwardly and to the left in a somewhat arcuate bend. The free end It of the tongue may have a reverse bendtherein to make a smoother contact with the upper surface of the upper part l2.

The lower part H has formed from the intermediate section thereof a pair. of oppositely positioned tabs 19. The tabs [9 are formed by bending upwardly cut sections of the lower part on a line transversely of the length. The tabs l9 are bent substantially at right angles to the intermediate section I 3 and are undercut on the outer sides thereof to form notches 2| therein with overlying projections 22 thereabove. The tabs [9 preferably have the upper surfaces 23 thereof sloped outwardly for purposes hereinafter described and the notches 2| lock the two pieces together, as will be explained.

The upper part I2, of the same width as the lower part II, comprises an intermediate section 26 with forwardly extending jaw fingers 21, Fig. 3. The jaw fingers 21 may be slotted as at 28, if desired, and also have a cross-brace 29. The fingers 21 may have a bend transversely therein, as shown in Fig. 6, to strengthen the same and prevent undue flexing along the length thereof.

The intermediate section of the upper part I2 is bent transversely substantially at a reasonable radius to form a rightwardly or backwardly extending handle section 3| and a leftwardly or forwardly extending section 32. The section 32 has a downwardly extending bend 33 therein adjacent the inner ends of the jaw fingers 27. The ends of the jaw fingers 21 of the upper part I2 normally engage the ends Of the jaw fingers I4 of the lower part I2, and. the bent intermediate section 29 of the upper part normally engages the upper surface of the intermediate section I3 of the lower part.

An opening .34 is formed in the intermediate and handle sections of the upper part I2 and has oppositely positioned notches 36 therein. The opening formed by the notches 36 is somewhat less than the distance between the outside surfaces of the projections 22 and may be in the neighborhood of 0.020 inches less, for example.

When assembling the two parts II and I2 together, the tongue I! may be lifted and slid through the opening 9c in the upper part I2. With the notches 39 over the tabs I9 the sloping surfaces 23 thereof will engage the ends of notches 36. Thereupon pressing the two parts together will cause the tabs I9 to move inward. When the two parts are sufficiently close together, the notches or undercuts H in the tabs I9 permit the tabs I9 to spring outward with a part of the tabs or the projections 22 overlying the intermediate section 26 of the upper part. Thus the two parts II and I2 are locked together and will not separate regardless of the condition of the spring tongue I'I.

When assembled, the free end 13 of the tongue I'I presses against the upper surface of the top part I2 to hold the ends of the jaw fingers of the respective parts together. By squeezing the handle sections HS and 3! together, the jaw fingers will open as the intermediate section of the upper part rocks on the like section of the lower part. This will be against the action of the spring tongue I7, and when released the jaw fingers will close to grip anything, such as a hair curl, therebetween. r

While the present invention has been shown and described in but the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be obvious that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A hair clip comprising a lower part and an upper part with each of said parts being made of a single piece of sheet metal, said lower part having an intermediate section upon which said upper part is arranged to rock with a forwardly 4 extending jaw section and a rearwardly extending handle section, a spring tongue lanced from the intermediate and handle sections of said lower part, the main part of said tongue extending upwardly and forwardly from said handle section with the free end thereof extending downwardly whereby said tongue is substantially arcuate in the direction of its length, a pair of tabs formed from said intermediate section and extending upwardly therefrom at substantially right angles to said lower part, said tabs having sidewise and outwardly extending projections adjacent the free ends thereof, the upper part of said clip having an intermediate section bent transversely of the length thereof to form a rearwardly and upwardly extending handle section and a forwardly and upwardly extending jaw section, said jaw section having an intermediate bend whereby the ends thereof extend downwardly, an opening formed in the handle and intermediate sections ofsaid upper part through which said tongue extends, said tongue pressing against the upper surface of the jaw section of said upper part to hold the tips of the jaw sections of said parts together, a pair of notches in the intermediate section of the opening in said upper part, said notches being opposite in the transverse direction of said upper part and adapted to receive the upwardly extending tabs of said lower part, and means including the projections of said tabs extending beyond the notches in said upper part to prevent separation of said parts independently of said tongue, the sidewise extending projections on the tabs in the lower part being farther apart than the notches in the upper part to require flexing of the tabs inwardly to assemble said upper part on said lower part.

2. A hair clip according to claim 1, wherein the tabs are formed by bending upwardly sections of the lower part of said clip with the bends extending transversely of said lower part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,459,452 Reiner et a1 Jan. 18, 1949 2,464,739 Solomon et a1 Mar. 15, 1949 2,500,391 Weaver et al Mar. l l, 1950 2,638,908 Schildt May 19, 1953 

